Spin the Bottle: Hobbit Style
by MellyrnUinSilme
Summary: The quest is over. One night at Minas Tirith, Pippin decides the hobbits need to spend some time together. He suggests a party, and the hobbits get a little more than they expected... Warning: SLASH
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fanfiction:) I took the prompt from McJunker's "Thirty Terrible Ideas for LOTR Fanfics". (Read it, it's hilarious:)

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters. No copyright infringement intended, and I am not making any money off of this.

I hope you enjoy!

It was about a week after the quest was over. The entire fellowship (minus Boromir, for obvious reasons) was staying in Minas Tirith. The four hobbits were sharing a room; it was more than large enough for all four of them.

Merry and Pippin were in the kitchen cooking massive amounts of food. Sam was sitting in a chair by the fire, lightly dozing. Frodo sat on the rug in front of the fire, waiting for Merry and Pippin to join him and Sam.

When Merry and Pippin came in, they brought a large tray with them containing all sorts of desserts.

"Well," said Frodo, "would you like to inform me of what you two are planning tonight? I know you're up to something."

"Well you see, Frodo," Merry began.

"We thought it would be a good idea to have a bit of fun this evening," continued Pippin.

"Seeing as, you know, everybody has been to busy to hang out together these last few weeks, Pippin and I thought that we should have a party tonight!" Merry finished.

"And what kind of party exactly?" Frodo asked skeptically.

"The kind where you have friends, food, and Truth or Dare!" answered Merry cheerfully.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt..." said Frodo.

"Excellent!" Pippin exclaimed, pulling out four glasses and a large barrel of ale. Nobody even knew how or where he had managed to hide that.

Two hours later, they were all extremely drunk. They sat on the rug in front of the fire, talking.

"Well, who wants to play Truth or Dare?" Merry asked.

"Only if you go first," said Sam.

"Alright," said Merry, "Frodo! Truth or dare?"

"Errm...truth," said Frodo.

"Chicken!" Merry scoffed, as he thought up a question. "Alright...when was the last time you did something you really regretted afterwards, and what was it?"

"It was yesterday. I stole Legolas' shampoo and he threatened me at knifepoint until I returned it," Frodo answered. The hobbits laughed. "Sam, truth or dare?" asked Frodo.

"Truth," said Sam.

"You're both chickens!" said Merry.

"Okay...what do most regret doing in Rivendell before the quest?" Frodo interrupted.

"Oh..." said Sam blushing crimson, "Uh...well... Glorfindel and Erestor may have been participating in certain...activities...in the garden and I might have sort of...watched."

"Eeeeew!" the hobbits exclaimed, trying to remove the image that had been burned into their minds for eternity.

"I will never be able to look at either of them again!" moaned Pippin.

"Merry, truth or dare?" said Sam, although still scarlet with mortification.

"Dare!" said Merry.

"Okay," said Sam, his mind already coming up with several devious ideas, "Sneak into Aragorn and Arwen's room and steal Arwen's flat iron!"

The hobbits gasped. There was nobody more dangerous than Arwen when you were on her bad side. And nobody messed with her hair products. Ever.

"Awesome!" said Merry, already standing and preparing to leave the room. "I need a witness!" he said, "Frodo! Come with me!"

Frodo, although looking terrified at the idea of being caught, stood and followed Merry from the room.

Half an hour later, the two returned, Merry holding a pink, sparkly flat iron.

"We have returned!" he announced. The other hobbits cheered.

"And this *is* Arwen's flat iron, not Legolas'," Frodo confirmed.

The hobbits were incredibly impressed.

"Pippin, truth or dare?" Merry asked, sitting down in front of the fire again.

"Uhh...dare?" said Pippin timidly.

Merry smiled wickedly. "Sneak into Legolas' room, steal his bow and arrows, and put them in Gimli's room."

The hobbits gasped again and Pippin visibly paled. Shaking, he stood.

"Sam, you will be my witness," he said. Pippin and Sam left the room.

A full hour later, after Frodo and Merry were beginning to worry, Pippin and Sam returned. Pippin smiled, looking extremely relieved, and sat down in front of the fire.

"He did it!" Sam said excitedly, sitting down next to Frodo. The hobbits were awed by Pippin's show of bravery.

"I have a dare for all of you," Pippin announced. "But I highly doubt that you will be brave enough to accept it. I would be astounded with you courage if you did. I trust you will not act like cowards."

"Oh come on! It can't be that bad! I stole Arwen's flat iron, for Eru's sake!" Merry scorned.

"So you accept?" Pippin asked sweetly.

"Yes!" the hobbits said, determined not to be viewed as cowards.

"Okay!" Pippin smiled triumphantly. "We are playing Spin the Bottle."

The hobbits sat in shocked silence.

"You can't be serious," Sam said.

"Oh I am very serious. Frodo, please go find a bottle. I believe there is a leftover wine one in the kitchen over there." Frodo, though still in shock, obliged.

"How much did you drink, Pippin?" Merry asked, concerned.

"That is none of you business," Pippin replied airily, waving his hand. "Let's establish the rules." Frodo returned with the bottle. "Thank you Frodo," Pippin said. "One person spins the bottle. Whoever it points at, that person must kiss. This must be on the lips only, but can be as long or short as the person desires." Pippin took the bottle from him and placed it in the middle of the circle.

"Great! Who wants to go first?" Pippin asked. The other hobbits glanced at each other, now very concerned about the amount of ale Pippin must have consumed. "Cowards," Pippin said, reaching for the bottle. He grabbed it, spinning it quickly. The bottle spun, and spun, and spun, until it finally stopped at...Frodo.

Frodo visibly paled. He could not believe this was about to happen, much less to him. Pippin smiled at him, leaned across the circle, and laid his hands on either side of Frodo's face. Frodo seemed paralyzed with fear. Sam and Merry watched anxiously as Pippin leaned in, bringing their lips together.

It wasn't a long kiss, but it definitely could have been shorter. Pippin released Frodo, returning to his seat. Frodo could not help but feel more at ease. 'That could have been worse', Frodo thought. He almost smiled, then stopped himself, remembering that he was *not* supposed to have enjoyed that. "Your turn," Pippin said, smiling sweetly at Frodo. Frodo gulped nervously. He reached for the bottle. Grabbing it, he spun it, watching it tensely. The bottle stopped, pointing at Sam. Sam promptly went bright red. Frodo decided not to make it more awkward than it had to be.

He reached over to Sam and gave him a small kiss on the lips, then sat back down in his place. Sam, still bright red, found himself thinking that that was altogether too short... He shook himself from those inappropriate thoughts, reaching for the bottle. He gave it a quick spin. It landed on Merry. Sam nervously leaned over and gave Merry a small kiss. Merry then reached for the bottle and spun it. The bottle landed on Pippin. Merry smiled deviously at his cousin, leaning over and kissing him hard on the mouth. It went on much, much longer than it needed to. Frodo and Sam glanced at each other. Frodo cleared his throat awkwardly and Merry finally pulled himself away from Pippin. Frodo was slightly jealous.

Pippin spun the bottle and it landed on Frodo, yet again. Pippin smirked, saying, "You were a little jealous just a second ago, weren't you?" Frodo frantically shook his head, doing his best to deny it, but Pippin just leaned over and pressed his lips against Frodo's for the second time that night. Frodo, much to his shock, found himself responding. If you had asked him later, he would have denied ever even remotely enjoying it. Pippin was still kissing him when they heard a new voice clear their throat behind them. Pippin and Frodo broke away quickly. They turned to see Legolas standing there. His hair was disheveled, and he looked absolutely mortified. He wore a pink bathrobe with cheeks blushing to match.

"Sorry - I really hate to interrupt - but, uh, have you seen my bow and arrows?" he asked, looking as though he regretted ever having entered the room.

"Gimli has them," Pippin answered, a little too quickly. Legolas thanked them, quickly exiting the room with a last apologetic glance thrown over his shoulder.

Merry was still extremely jealous that Pippin kissed Frodo longer. Merry was contemplating tackling Pippin, pinning him against the floor, and kissing him as long as he liked, but his planning was interrupted by a piercing loud scream of rage.

"Arwen..." the hobbits gasped, all of them paling for the third time that night.

Thank you so much for reading! It would make my day if you would review:) Let me know what you thought, even if you hated it!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: First of all, I wanted to say thank you so much for your reviews! They absolutely made my night. As this is my first fanfic, I was extremely self-conscious, but you guys made me feel so much better about it! You all deserve cookies, baked specially by Pippin!

I wasn't planning on continuing this fic any farther, but after reading some of your reviews, I thought I'd give it a try!

I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

The hobbits sat in their room, terrified at what wrath Arwen might bring upon them. They hid the flat iron in Gandalf's room and hoped to the Valar that Arwen would spare them when she found out.

The hobbits sat on the rug, exhausted after their busy night. They were just beginning to drift off to sleep when Aragorn came frantically running into the room. "Hide me!" he begged.

"What is is?" Merry asked, waking up.

"Someone took Arwen's flat iron and she is *completely* out of control!" he panicked, looking for hiding places. As he was glancing around the room, he caught sight of the bottle. "Have you been drinking?" he asked suspiciously.

"Only ale," Pippin said, grinning drunkenly.

"Ale doesn't come in bottles..." Aragorn states.

"Uhhh..." Sam said, " we were doing other things too..."

"Like what?" Aragorn asked, curious.

"Nothing!" said Pippin, "Nothing at all, why do you ask?"

"Fine. We were playing Spin the Bottle," said Frodo.

"You weren't supposed to tell him!" Pippin hissed.

"Why? Worried he will want to play and that he will steal all my kisses?" Frodo teased.

"No! Well...maybe," Pippin said, ashamed.

"I am *not* playing! As a matter of fact, I need to go now, I have to hide from Arwen and there aren't any good hiding spots in here. Everything's hobbit-sized," said Aragorn quickly.

"Oh no you don't!" smirked Frodo. "There's plenty of room here, in our little circle..."

"No! No way! I'm married!" protested Aragorn.

"What's going on?" Legolas said, poking his head in through the door.

"Help!" Aragorn said, running to hide behind Legolas. "They're trying to get me to play Spin the Bottle with them!"

Legolas let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"Well, if you don't want to play, that's fine, Aragorn. Maybe you'd like to join us for a drink instead?" Merry said. "You too, Legolas," he added.

"Well, it couldn't hurt..." Aragorn reasoned.

Aragorn and Legolas sat down next to the hobbits. Pippin produced another large barrel of ale with more mugs. After filling everyone's mugs to the brim, he passed them around.

They talked and drank together for another three hours. The four hobbits stopped drinking after the first hour, but Pippin made sure that Aragorn and Legolas' mugs were always filled to the brim.

Another half hour and Aragorn and Legolas were totally drunk, even Legolas. It was *very* strong ale.

"So," Merry said casually. "What about Spin the Bottle?" Aragorn and Legolas agreed enthusiastically.

"Frodo, you can go first!" Sam said eagerly, sounding quite hopeful that the bottle would land on him. Pippin glared.

"Okay," Frodo said, spinning the bottle. It landed at Aragorn. Aragorn raised his eyebrows slightly but looked at Frodo expectantly.

Frodo leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. It lasted for maybe three seconds but the other hobbits all glared at Aragorn. Aragorn smiled back as he spun the bottle. It landed on Merry. Aragorn reached over to Merry and kissed him lightly. Merry looked slightly disappointed at how brief it was, but spun the bottle again anyways.

It landed on Pippin. Merry, in his drunken state of mind, was more than happy to kiss him again. He reached across the circle, pulling Pippin to him. Wrapping his arms tightly around him, Merry kissed him. Pippin looked quite pleased as he responded, holding the back of Merry's head as he deepened the kiss. They stayed like that for quite a while, only breaking apart when Sam tapped Pippin's shoulder.

Pippin, with a glare thrown at Sam for the second time that night, separated himself from Merry. He reached for the bottle and spun it. It landed on Aragorn again. Pippin gave Aragorn a small kiss before sitting back down. Merry looked at Aragorn smugly.

Aragorn spun the bottle and it landed on Legolas. Aragorn reached over and kissed his friend with enthusiasm. The hobbits began to get slightly concerned about how drunk Aragorn must be.

Legolas looked quite pleased with this development as he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around Aragorn and pulling him closer. Then Legolas moaned softly and the hobbits suspected, with embarrassment, that slightly more than lips were now being used.

Pippin felt the sudden urge to turn away. He never meant for it to go *that* far! He just wanted everyone to have some fun that night.

Then the door flew open and Arwen stood there. The hobbits' eyes widened as they went from a fury-filled Arwen to Aragorn still kissing Legolas, then back to Arwen, then back to Aragorn, then...

As Arwen took in the scene in front of her, her face contorted as she grew more upset, more furious, and then...

Everything went slow motion. The hobbits all dove for cover as Arwen let out the loudest, most shill scream *anyone* had ever heard in their lives. Sam swore afterwords that his eardrums almost burst.

Aragorn and Legolas broke apart, arms still wrapped around each other, looking around for the source of interruption. Arwen stood there, looking at them for a few minutes, then burst into enraged tears and stomped out of the room. The hobbit winced as the door slammed behind her.

Aragorn and Legolas resumed their previous activities, Aragorn now kissing down the side of Legolas' neck. Legolas threw his head back, moaning quietly again, oblivious to the hobbits' horror.

Then Merry knew this had gone on long enough. Not wanting them to go any farther, he got out from behind the couch where he had hidden from Arwen, stood up, and briskly walked over to them. Stooping down to their level, he cleared his throat. This had no effect whatsoever. He tapped them both on the shoulder. Still, no effect. Legolas' hands moved to Aragorn's shirt. "Ohhh-kay!" Merry exclaimed, going bright red. He pushed them apart. They looked up at him, whining at having been interrupted. "That's gone on far enough, thank you! Let's get you guys to bed-" Aragorn and Legolas took this entirely the wrong way and eagerly stood up. Merry realized his mistake and quickly yelled, "NO! NO... no no no no no. Eru, not... not like that." May the Valar have mercy on them for getting everyone into such a mess. Whose genius idea was it to get these two drunk?

"I didn't mean that!" he insisted desperately. Legolas pouted. Sam covered his hands with his eyes, obviously trying to erase the terrible image that had just been burned into his mind.

"What I meant was, you two are very, very drunk and you need to rest while it goes away," Merry said, speaking slowly and clearly as though to a child.

Aragorn and Legolas nodded obediently. Merry motioned to Pippin to help him. Merry supporting Legolas and Pippin supporting Aragorn, they moved over to the fire. Sam and Frodo crept out from behind the chairs. They all sat in a circle, with Aragorn on one side and Legolas on another, just to be safe. Aragorn and Legolas lightly dozed while the hobbits sat in an awkward silence.

"I am so sorry, everyone," Pippin said, breaking the silence. "When I suggested this, I never meant for it to go so far."

"Me, either," Merry added. Though he wouldn't say that he regretted kissing Frodo, or especially Pippin. He didn't regret *that* at all.

Then the door opened again. Fearing that it was Arwen, the hobbits jumped, but then Gandalf strolled in. He saw the hobbits, Legolas, and Aragorn sitting (or sleeping) in a circle with the bottle in the center and his mouth dropped open.

The hobbits, again, blushed in shame. Then Gandalf's face broke into a wide smile, and he said, "Can I play?"

A/N: Well there you have it! I really hope it came out okay:/ Is it too slashy? Review and let me know what you think, even if you hate it!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorite-ed, or followed! *hands out cookies and lembas* You are all awesome!

I am so, so sorry that it took so long for this. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter, but I think it came out all right, so...enjoy!

Legolas was embarrassed. No, he was beyond embarrassed. He was beyond mortified and humiliated. He wanted to dig himself into a very, very deep hole and make someone bury him, whether he was alive or not.

He had kissed Aragorn. He had kissed his friend. And more than just kissing had taken place. He knew this. After all, he *had* been partially sober. No hobbit ale, no matter how strong, could get an elf drunk with as few as six pints.

He was so upset, he didn't know what to do with himself. He knew that he should go apologize to Aragorn, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Aragorn would surely see the guilt in Legolas' eyes. Because as much as Legolas hated to admit it, he had enjoyed himself last night. Granted, he was drunk, so he probably would have enjoyed it no matter who it was, but he couldn't deny that he was a little more than pleased that he ended up kissing Aragorn.

What? Wait... back up. Where had that thought even come from? He liked Aragorn...like that? Then it all fell into place. Legolas had always been so much happier when he was around Aragorn. He loved hearing Aragorn' laugh, seeing his smile, over anything else. He couldn't help but notice Aragorn's strong build, beautiful eyes, and dark hair whenever they were in the same room. Aragorn meant more than anything to him. Legolas groaned inwardly. This was not happening. It can't be happening. Why did he have to fall for his best friend? It was wrong. For one thing, Aragorn was married. To Arwen. Who would even *look* at Legolas over her? Second, Aragorn had never thought of Legolas as anything but a friend. Legolas knew this. He also knew that he would be very, very lucky to still have Aragorn as a friend after this incident. But, if he was honest with himself, he wanted Aragorn to be more than a friend.

He instantly hated himself for thinking that, sighed, and got up to apologize.

Pippin didn't know what to do with himself. Last night's events were inexcusable, no matter how drunk he was. Why had he wanted them to play that stupid game? All it had done was ruin everyone's lives. Aragorn and Legolas wouldn't even go near each other. The hobbits blushed bright red and stuttered whenever one of them so much as glanced at each other, and they had actually moved into separate rooms due to overall embarrassment. Gandalf...well, Gandalf had been disappointed to learn that he could not play Spin the Bottle with them as they were finished with the game now.

Pippin didn't even know what to think about the older man now.

As everyone had been drunk on varying degrees, he had only managed to get varied and muddled reports on what had or hadn't happened the last night, but from what he could tell he himself had behaved exceedingly inappropriately. He had kissed his *cousins*, for Eru's sake! But as wrong as it was, Pippin didn't feel all that sorry for kissing Frodo or Merry. Now that he thought about it, he realize he had quite enjoyed it. They were both excellent kissers. He internally scolded himself for thinking like that. But then, he realized he had actually felt like that for a long time. Not about the kissing, but just the overall attraction to his cousins, in a more-than-cousinly way. But they would never, ever feel the same for him. He was just Pippin. Just their annoying, food-obsessed little cousin. They would probably never see him as anything more.

Merry was very upset. Very. And there was a very good explanation to sort it out: 1) Pippin and 2) Frodo. Merry had been a little more sober than the others, and he recalled quite clearly what had taken place. He remembered, distinctly, kissing Pippin. For a long, long time. On the lips. As much as Merry was mortified, he couldn't say that he would have changed it. He instantly banished that thought from his head.

Merry hadn't realized it before, but he was unusually protective of Pippin. Any girl (or guy) that so much as glanced at Pippin wouldn't be doing so for any longer than three seconds before they had Merry to deal with.

Plain and simple, Merry wanted Pippin to himself. That was it. Pippin and Merry, Merry and Pippin. It had always been that way, for as long as he could remember, and he never wanted it to change. If anything, he wanted more of Pippin. He wanted Pippin to think of him as more than a cousin, or friend. He really, really liked Pippin.

Then there was Frodo. Pippin seemed to enjoy kissing Frodo much, much more than Merry could comprehend. Merry was not okay with this. Just watching them last night had invoked infuriating jealousy inside him. He had to see what was up with that. Was Frodo a better kisser than Merry? What was there about Frodo that Pippin liked better? But then again, why was Merry so surprised? Frodo was always better at everything. Better looking, smarter, more talented, more loved by everyone. Everyone knew who Frodo Baggins was, and everyone cared. As for Meriadoc Brandybuck? They didn't care. And neither did Pippin. With that thought, Merry sank onto his cold bed, tears falling freely from his eyes.

Aragorn laid flat on his bed, Arwen at his side. As mad as she was, she was able to accept that he had been drunk and made a mistake. That was it. She still felt slightly resentful, but was willing to forgive him when he apologized.

She sat up, bent over, and kissed him, then ran her hand down the side of his face. He sat up and kissed her back. They stayed that way for a long time.

Then there was knock on the door. Aragorn unwrapped Arwen's arms from him, sighed, and went over to the door. Opening it, he saw Legolas, and reflexively flinched and slammed the door in his face. Aragorn quickly locked it, then went back over to Arwen.

"Who was it?" she asked.

"No one," he said, and laid back down next to her.

Legolas could have cried. Aragorn had slammed the door in his face. Slammed it. He supposed Aragorn had every right to do so, after last night's events, but he thought his friend would at least give him a chance to apologize.

Clearly, he had thought wrong.

Did Aragorn somehow know? No, he couldn't! Legolas hadn't told anyone how he truly felt for his friend. Then Legolas got mad. Whose fault was it that he was in this situation in the first place? The hobbits'. Whose fault as it that he had done all those awful things to Aragorn last night? The hobbits'. And whose fault was it that Aragorn had just slammed the door in his face? Guess who... The hobbits'. And Legolas had a pretty good idea of who the main person at fault was. And they were going to pay for this.

He stormed away from Aragorn's door, tears of anger, despair, and frustration falling from his eyes. He headed for Merry's room, and Merry was going to be sorry.

A/N: First and foremost, I promise that Legolas is not going to hurt Merry. At all. They're going to have a nice little chat that you get to read in the next chapter. I know it sounded bad for Merry there, but I promise he's fine.

So that's it for this chapter! I hope it was worth the wait. I will be updating again very, very soon, probably sometime later today (It's 1:53am as I am writing this).

Just as a warning, this story got way, way darker than I intended it to. I was writing and all of a sudden it went from a (hopefully) cute, happy story into a dramatic mess. But I'm working on it!

So, review! Let me know what you think, even if you hate it!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm back! As promised, a very short wait! Here is the next chapter for you!

Reviews- if you have a fanfiction account, I will PM you to give you the promised cookies! If you are a guest, I will respond to your reviews here. Please keep reviewing! I love feedback!

justme- your review made my night! Aragorn did enjoy it too and he will stop being in denial soon. hopefully. If he cooperates, which, somehow, Aragorn never does. *sigh*. I'm glad you are enjoying it and I will keep updating!

Merry was just falling asleep, his pillow wet with tears, when he heard a pounding at his door. Great, he thought. Someone else who hates me. Wiping his eyes as best as he could, he pulled open the door, not sure what to expect. What he saw, however, was something he wouldn't have thought he would ever see.

Legolas was standing in his doorway, his face covered in tears, his face contorted with anger, remorse, and depression. He opened his mouth, clearly ready to shout at Merry, but upon seeing that Merry didn't look much better than he did at the moment, he stopped.

"Are you okay, Merry?" he said, instantly concerned despite his previous anger.

Merry laughed hollowly. "Why should you care?"

"Because, Merry, I'm your friend, like it or not. Friends are there for each other. Now can I come in while you tell me what's wrong?"

"Only if you tell me what's wrong with you too," Merry said, pulling the door wider to allow Legolas to enter.

Legolas came in, sitting down at the small table and chairs in the room. Merry, after closing the door, joined him.

"So what's going on?" Legolas asked gently.

"First, well, I wanted to apologize. I never, ever meant for things to go so far between you and Aragorn. We only wanted to have some fun. Something like that... I never would have invited you two in to drink if I had known."

"Don't worry about it, Merry. We'll talk about me later," Legolas said, his voice tightening. "For now, we are talking about you."

"I don't know where to start," Merry said, his eyes filling with tears. "After that night, I started to discover, well, some feelings I didn't know I had. And they really complicated things for me."

Legolas nodded. "These feelings aren't about young master Peregrin, are they?" Merry looked at him, shocked. "Come on, Merry, I may have been part drunk but I'm still observant. I saw the way you were acting around him, and I don't think it was just the drink." Merry's entire face flushed red, from his cheeks to his ears. "I thought so," Legolas smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that, Merry."

"But we're cousins!" Merry protested.

Legolas shrugged. "With love, I don't think it matters. Some people may say differently, but I have always thought that as long as people are happy, it doesn't matter if they are related or not."

Merry seemed a little more comfortable about that, but still miserable.

"You are worried, I would assume, that he does not feel the same way." Legolas continued.

Merry nodded. "He seemed to like kissing Frodo... a lot. I don't know if it was because he was drunk - I mean we all know it's not the first time - but still. He and Frodo have always been close, and, well, let's face it- Frodo's better than me at everything anyways."

Legolas was shocked. Merry honestly felt that way? "Merry, don't be so hard on yourself! What do you mean?"

"Well, back home, everyone pays attention to Frodo. They all care about him, he has tons of friends, and even more admirers, if at all possible. He's way better-looking than me and way smarter, and with him being the Ringbearer and all, I mean, who *wouldn't* choose him over me?"

Legolas was temporarily stunned. "Merry. Please. I can't speak on behalf of Pippin's feelings, but I do know for sure that you have a chance. I can see it in his eyes, the way he admires you. It was you that he went through danger after danger with on that quest, and it was you that he always seemed to worry over more than anyone else. And according to Gandalf, the look in his eyes after he took him away from you in Rohan was heartbreaking. He also told me that Pippin cried for nights in Minas Tirith because you weren't there, and because he was worried for you. Pippin cares for you a lot. In what way, I'm not sure, but don't give up so easily."

Merry smiled. "Thank you, Legolas. I would definitely like some more help with this, but for now, we should talk about you."

Legolas closed his eyes and sighed. "It's complicated. We don't need to go into it," he said, trying in vain to get out of it.

"Oh please, Legolas. I know there is something bothering you, and it definitely has to do with that night. And the only thing you really did that night, was, well, with Aragorn. So would I be correct to assume that it has something to do with him?"

Legolas vowed to never underestimate a hobbit's perceptive abilities again. "Yes, it's about Aragorn."

Merry nodded. "Have you talked to him since the game?"

Legolas avoided looking at Merry. "I was up at his rooms just before I came down here," he said slowly, trying not to let his voice give away anything.

"Really? What did he say?"

"It's what he didn't say. He slammed the door in my face, Merry."

Dead silence. *cricket* *cricket*

"Oh, Eru," Merry said despairingly, covering his face with his hands and turning away from Legolas. "I've gone and messed everything up between you two! What if he never talks to you again! It would be my fault, mine!"

"Merry," Legolas said quietly, "not helping."

"I'm so, so sorry," Merry whispered. Then he turned back to face Legolas, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Well, the first step to fixing this is to find out what needs to be fixed. So what exactly would that be?"

"We were friends. Friends do not do the type of things to each other that I did to him that night. I would never have done it if not for the drink-" Then he stopped guiltily, clearing his throat and avoiding Merry's gaze.

"Legolas, you can tell me," Merry said. "Honestly, I just informed you that I'm in love with my cousin. There is not anything that you could say to me that I would find weird."

Legolas looked up. "Well, you do have a point," he admitted. "Fine. I like Aragorn. A lot. More than a friend. But he is married, he likes females, I messed everything up anyways, and he will probably never even talk to me again."

Merry looked at him incredulously. "You think you don't have any chance with him? Before the incident, you two were so close. You were best friends. The way he would look at you, so trustingly, someone who didn't know he was married might have thought that you two were together. He would have followed you anywhere, done anything at all to save you if you were in danger, and he trusted you with his life above anyone else. And he still would. Because even if you think that he hates you, he is probably just ashamed and humiliated right now. Think about it. The King of Gondor, the *married* King of Gondor, was drunk, kissing elves and hobbits. He just needs some time with Arwen, is all. He doesn't want her to think that he is leaving her. After that is established, and you two talk for a while, things will be back to normal." Elbereth, who knew? That was almost...poetic. And Merry sounded so convincing...

"I guess so. 'Back to normal' is about the best I can hope for."

"Oh, I never said it would stop at normal," Merry grinned. "Who knows? Anything can happen, right? He might decide that he liked kissing you. Just giving it time is the best I can suggest."

Legolas blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Merry. I feel much, much better. Now, like you said, I will give it time. When Aragorn is ready to talk to me, I will talk to him. But in the meantime, I think we need to find out how Pippin feels about you."

It was Merry's turn to blush.

A/N: I'm sorry that nothing much happened in this chapter, but this needed to be written, so...here it is! Let me know what you think, even if you hate it! Also, it will probably be four or five days until I can update it again:/ sorry for the wait!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry it took forever to update! But here it is, the new chapter!

Pippin tossed and turned in his bed. He was so confused over what had just happened...

It had started out so simply. He had snuck down to the kitchens for a midnight snack when he had run into Frodo. He had said hi, they had talked for a few minutes, and the next thing Pippin knew Frodo was pushing him up against the wall, kissing him.

Pippin had been shocked. He had pushed Frodo off and then ran back up to his room.

What was that even about?! Did Frodo actually...like him? Pippin had thought that everything Frodo had done during Spin the Bottle was purely because of the drink, but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe Frodo really did have feelings for him.

But Pippin definitely didn't return them. Sure, Frodo was nice and everything, and fun to be around and all that, but Pippin had never liked him *that* way. Merry, on the other hand, was a different story-

Wait. What was that last thought? Had Pippin honestly just said that he liked Merry?

But, Pippin realized, it was true. He and Merry had always done everything together. They had snuck into pantry after pantry as children, mercilessly raiding its contents. They had climbed trees in search of apples, "borrowed" crops from Farmer Maggot on a regular basis, and pretty much done everything together from the time Pippin could walk. And when Gandalf had taken Pippin away from Merry, Pippin had thought his heart would burst. He was so, so afraid for Merry. He had always hated it when they were apart and anxiously waited until the next time they were together.

Now he knew why.

He sighed. He knew he should probably go talk to Merry. It would be no use keeping his feelings bottled up inside him. Even though Merry would never like him back, by talking to him Pippin could at least do something besides sit around and think about it. Pippin walked over to the door and headed to Merry's rooms.

Legolas slowly walked to Aragorn's rooms. He wasn't sure what to say to Aragorn. Honestly, what *could* he say? By the time he reached Aragorn's doors he was completely panicked, almost hyperventilating. He raised his hand to knock, then turned around and ran as fast as he could back to his own rooms.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't talk to Aragorn without passing out. He laid on his bed, stretched out, and fell asleep, even though he hadn't eaten for two days.

Aragorn paced back and forth. Arwen was in Rivendell right now, visiting her family. She would be gone for the next three months, actually. It was a perfect opportunity to talk to Legolas.

Aragorn really hadn't meant it when he slammed the door in Legolas' face. He had regretted it ever since. Legolas didn't deserve that. He cared about Legolas too much to see him hurt

Actually, now that he realized it, he cared for Legolas a lot more than he had ever thought. Legolas didn't deserve to think that Aragorn hated him when Aragorn really felt quite the opposite.

He sighed and opened the door, heading towards Legolas' room. He knocked on the door quietly, waiting for him to open it.

There was a knock on the door. Legolas sighed and went to open it, even though he was really hungry. He opened the door to see Aragorn standing there. He looked really, really good. He normally did, but today he looked even more gorgeous than usual. Not fair, Legolas thought. It's not polite to shock someone like that. Seriously, I open up the door and almost have a heart attack- oh. Aragorn was looking at him expectantly. Right! He is supposed to open the door more and let Aragorn in. Of course. He was being very foolish.

"Sorry," he said to Aragorn, laughing nervously. This was the first time he had actually talked to him since that night... Oh Elbereth, he was going to screw everything up, this is why he hadn't knocked on Aragorn's door. He couldn't handle talking to him without acting strangely. Surely Aragorn would notice-

"It's fine," Aragorn said, even though he was confused as to why Legolas stood in the doorway staring at him for five whole minutes.

"Do you want some breakfast? I was just going to make something for myself," Legolas called from the kitchen.

"Sure, thank you," Aragorn called back, slightly distracted. Legolas looked amazing today. Even more so than usual. Wait, when head that thought come from? Since when did he think about how beautiful his best friend *looked* on a regular basis? Aragorn shook that disturbing thought from his head and headed over to the kitchen to help Legolas.

"Hey," he said, announcing his presence behind the elf. Legolas jumped and turned around.

"Sorry," he apologized again, laughing quietly. "I'm a little jumpy today." Aragorn smiled at him.

"No problem," he said, then hesitated. Ignoring it, he began to speak again anyways. "I'm not mad at you for what happened the other night. We were drunk." And even if we weren't, I still wouldn't be mad at you. Who knew you were such a good kisser- Aragorn stopped his thoughts before they could go any further.

"I'm not mad at you either. So, we're good, I guess?" Aragorn nodded. Legolas had finished breakfast, so Aragorn helped carry it to the table. They sat down next to each other and started heaping their plates with bacon, waffles, and eggs. Aragorn poured an ocean of maple syrup over everything on his plate. They ate in silence for a while. Finally, Legolas broke it. "Where's Arwen? Will she be expecting you back soon?" This startled Aragorn out of his thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah. She'll be in Rivendell for the next three months. I think we both needed a break from each other."

"Already?" Legolas teased. "It's only been four months!" Aragorn nodded, his eyes drifting away to look out the large window. "Is everything okay?" Legolas asked.

"Well, I just- I mean, I thought I loved her. More than anything. But now I'm not sure." Legolas didn't know what to say to that. More than anything, he wanted to lean over and kiss Aragorn, but that would certainly not help Aragorn figure out his feelings. Instead Legolas leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I'm sitting here. Start talking if you feel like sharing it."

"It's just, I think that there might be someone else. That I love more." Legolas tried to keep the hurt from his eyes. Who was it that Aragorn loved?

"Who is this person?"

"I don't- I mean, I don't know if I should- do you think I should," he took a deep breath, "ask him?"

So this person was a him? Okay, that was news. He had really thought Aragorn was only into females. But if he really liked males, then that was only good news for Legolas.

"It would help me answer that question if I knew who he is-" Aragorn shook his head frantically. "-but since you don't appear to be telling me that, I'll just tell you what I think. I think that any person, whoever they are, would be absolutely insane to turn you down. You are the bravest, smartest, most amazing person I have ever met. You are loyal, kind, and caring. Anyone who would say no to you..." Legolas broke off, horrified at what had just come out of his mouth. That gave away way to much of his feelings!

"You're sure I should tell them?"

"Yes, Aragorn, I just said that."

"Okay." Then Aragorn leaned over and kissed Legolas on the mouth.

Legolas was momentarily frozen. What just happened? All he could feel was Aragorn's mouth on his, Aragorn's hands on his shoulders, and it felt so right. Legolas relaxed and closed his eyes, kissing him back.

Then it was over, just as soon as if had begun. Aragorn pulled back, looking completely mortified. "I'm so sorry- I'll just go now-" he said, standing up and moving quickly for the door.

Legolas stayed where he was as Aragorn exited the room. What?! Aragorn tells Legolas that he doesn't love Arwen, that he loves someone else, then kisses Legolas and leaves? What the-

Was Aragorn just joking with him? Was he not serious about it? Because Legolas had really liked that kiss, and not just because Aragorn had tasted like maple syrup. Because it was Aragorn, and he loved Aragorn. Legolas sat at the table, frozen in place, alone and completely confused.

A/N: Okay, okay. I meant to at least get at least one couple together in this chapter, but none of these characters like to cooperate. If they would just stop being blind and oblivious idiots, then maybe this story would actually be gping somewhere, but nooooo. They have to draw everything out. (Do you hear that, Merry? Pippin? Aragorn? Legolas? Good!)

Anyways, keep those reviews coming! They motivate me to keep writing this! And Legolas will give you waffles! (Do they have waffles in Middle-earth? Oh well! They do now! That is the point of fanfiction, right?)


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